Latest Update: Government Warns London Midland Over Poor Performance
Last week I met with Rail Minister Norman Baker to raise concerns about the performance of London Midland and other rail issues, and on the same day I held a public meeting allowing service users to put their concerns and questions direct to the train company.
Several different issues were raised in both meetings and some progress was made, here is an overview:
- Rail Minister warned that London Midland are on probation and if services don’t improve they will lose their franchise. The Government are keeping a very close eye on their performance and are meeting their Managing Director to review this in the summer
- The Government have looked into options of revoking their franchise immediately but this would come at great cost to the taxpayer until a new company is found
- A number of ways to improve access and safety at Watford Junction station are being considered, including providing a new route through the St Albans Road area. I am helping efforts to ensure that this is done as quickly as possible
- Responding to particular complaints London Midland said they would look into declassifying more first class carriages to provide more space, look into which services are cancelled the most to try and remedy the causes and improve customer relations and information to passengers
- Many customers raised concerns about receiving reimbursements for delayed services and London Midland confirmed that this can be done online and for Oyster card users. Further information can be found here. I will be raising with them further reimbursements for cancelled services.
- London Midland have agreed to meet on a 6 monthly basis with service users in Watford to review progress. I will announce further details in due course.
Not Fare - Fed Up with London Midland?
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Delays and Cancellations
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Low Quality Service
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High Fares
In 2012 the London Midland service through Watford went from bad to worse, and there is little sign of improvement in 2013. Richard Harrington MP is working with frustrated commuters to launch a petition.The aim is to send a message to both London Midland and the Department for Transport that Watford commuters believe that poor services are not acceptable and that London Midland need to make significant improvements if they are to be trusted with this franchise.
